The national monuments that President Obama has created or expanded are generating more than $156 million in local economic activity annually, according to a study published April 6, 2016.
The report, which was conducted by Colorado-based BBC Research and Consulting on behalf of an organization representing small businesses, looked at the economic activity of out-of-town visitors traveling at least 60 miles to their destinations. It found that the impact to the local workforce of such non-local visitor spending is equivalent to supporting 1,820 jobs.
“Too often, we only view land as valuable when it is being developed, mined, drilled or logged,” U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) said in a statement. “But, as this report shows, we can protect the most magnificent areas of our nation while also providing real opportunities for local economies.”
The estimated economic benefits are likely to grow even more in the coming years because newly designated historical monuments are in the process of expanding visitor hours, and national monuments created to protect resources tend to grow in popularity after designation. And Obama’s monuments are already popular: between 2011 and 2015, according to the report, these monuments saw about 3.9 million visitors each year.
President Obama is the sixteenth president (including eight Republicans and seven other Democrats) to use the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate national monuments. This report highlights how the presidential use of the Antiquities Act is not only a catalyst for conserving public lands, but also an economic driver.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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